The first big bill
We got an initial contract from the Wake Robin on Sunday and the total cost was about $5,000 more than we want to spend on this reception. And this is not including the cake and dessert or the DJ/band.
So we send it out to our parents and look at ways to cut stuff. There’s some easy stuff, like the late-night snacks in the pub, but that only cuts about $230. Not much help.
But I looked at it closer, and I saw that the food and drinks are all included in the $99 per person rate. So the only way to cut it is to cut back on hours of open bar (we have 5 right now; I think 3 is reasonable, then go to a cash bar, but for some reason, Mom wanted 5) or to cut the guest list.
Right now we have 115 people on the guest list and are hard pressed to cut any more. At $99 a head, that comes to $11,385, only about $1,000 over what we want to spend. Not too shabby. So where’s the other $4,000 coming from?
Turns out it’s tax and gratuity. We can save 5% (most of the tax) if we pay in full by the New Year. That leaves us about $3,000 over budget.
$3,000 in tips? Is that insane? I’m going to have to look again, but I think that’s what it comes down to. Isn’t that like a 30% gratuity? I’m just doing quick and dirty math in my head. I hope I’m missing something.
July 13th, 2007 at 12:40 am
6% sales tax and 18% gratuity is what I saw at every place we looked…
July 13th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
I looked again; it says that gratuity is 20%. I did the math for real, with a calculator, so it’s $2,323 in tips. But that’s without changing anything.
Still seems like a lot.
July 16th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Yikes, that does seem high…it better be stellar service!!
July 28th, 2007 at 11:47 am
Sadly, that’s the same everywhere. What I hate is, what if I didn’t like the service. That’s what a tip is for. My one suggestion to cut cost is check if they are using “Top Shelf” liquor. If they are, ask them not to use that. No one can tell the differce between brand name liquor and non when they are having a mix drink. That should cut the costs some. If it makes you feel any better, my husband’s cousin is getting married soon and is paying $168.00 a person. Yikes!